Rain affecting a variety of local crops

An unusually wet and cool May pushed back planting times and has likely hurt several local crops, including the hay harvest, area farmers are reporting.

Farmer Lowell Friedline reported 7.55 inches of rain in May, well over the 4.38-inch average compiled by the National Weather Service.

Friedline’s marks seem to be some of the highest in the area, as the service’s Web site indicated the region’s average was 6.42 inches of rain. That number was still substantially higher than normal, and precipitation was present 22 out of 31 days, including snowfall on May 12.

“At least grazing has been sensational,” Friedline said.

The Boswell native said he grows corn, barley and hay and has seen mixed results on his more than 250 acres.

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Barley has been spotty depending on how wet individual fields are, he said. In ground with more clay, the standing moisture has taken a toll on the crop, he said.

Harold Shaulis Jr., of Milford Township, said his oats crop suffered a similar spotty fate.

Both agreed their hay crop was hit hardest of all. “There’s just no good dry hay out there,” Shaulis said.

In order to cut the hay, two or three days of dry weather is needed that they just haven’t had, Shaulis said.

The hay has ripened to the point seeds are dropping from the crop, leaving the nutritional value of the harvest down, he said.

“It’s just roughage,” he said. He expects to successfully harvest 75 percent of his 120-acre crop.

Farmers sell hay to the horse market primarily when it isn’t used in local feed mixes for beef and dairy cattle, Shaulis said.

Glenn Stoltzfus, a Berlin dairy farmer, said his poorer than average hay crop will have to be supplemented with more purchased grain.

Dairy production-wise, his cows are enjoying the cooler temperatures, he said. He is also optimistic about the corn production.

“If we get the heat and the moisture, we’ll be OK,” he said.

Like many area farmers, he tried planting some corn in the beginning of May. That crop is looking thin, he said. The majority of his corn was planted two weeks ago.

“We’re a little behind, let me tell you,” he said. “They say knee high by the Fourth of July.” He’s not there yet, and a number of others aren’t either.

“Last year it was waist high. Now it’s hard-pressed to get to my knees,” Shaulis said.

He also said that some farmers have reported the emergence of the army worm.

“It’s an inch long and has the appetite of a gorilla,” he said. “You have to catch it early because it can wipe out a field in a couple of days.”

So far the voracious worm has been found in only a couple of fields, he said.

Overall, Friedline said, the crop’s not too bad. “I took somewhat of a hit on corn, but not as bad as I thought early on.”

Some local sweet corn should be at the market by Friday, said Larry Cogan, president of the Somerset County Farmers’ Market.

“Indications are that sweet corn will soon be available. It’s looking like it’s going to be a good crop. It’s just going to be a bit late,” he said.

Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are also late because of the weather, he said. Those are normally available for purchase by now, he said.

Tomato plants also got a late start. Some farmers, like Joel Weaver, of Windber, have had success with farming techniques such as building high tunnels for crops like tomatoes, Cogan said.

A high tunnel is much like a makeshift greenhouse made out of tubing and plastic sheeting. The plants respond to it because air temperatures are warmer in the structure, he said.

Alternative farming techniques like that are expensive, Cogan said. More importantly, late planting means late harvest and those crops are more valuable early in the season, he said.

“Early produce is where we see the highest price,” he said.

Making a living in agriculture means being publicly stoic because mother nature always has the last word.

“We’re farmers. You take what you get,” Stoltzfus said.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have druthers when it comes to the rest of the summer weather.

“Seventy-five to 80 degrees, an inch of rain every Saturday. Us farmers would be real happy with that,” Shaulis said.